Tag Archives: ann sacks

The house that just a year ago looked like it was ripped out of the movie The Ice Storm, or the 1970s in general, is almost through its remodel. I skipped a portion of construction with sheetrock, exterior work, etc…to this 11th hour. Approaching now a more prominent -and 0bvious– entry to the house on concrete pavers and plantings that will eventually fill out the gravel gaps. You can barely make out orange peels on the front stoop, from a Feng Shui house-blessing that had just taken place. The 12×24 stone pavers on the front stoop continue in to the entry to create a mud zone to take off your shoes, and transitions to the walnut throughout the house. A view through the main hall past the kitchen to the sunken living room beyond. The glass panel rails continue from the first floor to the third. The glass rails are finished with a wood cap to match the floors. The living room doors and sidelights, next to a peninsula fireplace that straddles the steps to the dining room. Let’s turn around and look back toward the front door. That’s a weird red thing smoke detector on the ceiling. (I really just wanted to use the ‘strike’ feature, which seems to only allow red text. WTF?) A small powder room near the entry was tiled in a black basket-weave pattern from Ann Sacks, to give guests something interesting to look at other than their reflection. (there’s a small mirror to the right)The dragon sink below was selected by my clients’ son for his bathroom, so we used a lot of blue in that room to match. The cabinet is dark blue but it’s hard to tell in this photo..Their daughter’s bathroom shower has ‘Ming Green’ marble tiles also from Ann Sacks, and white / greige on other walls and floor. I like this bathroom scheme the best of the four in the house…The master bathroom is dark, with a recycled concrete tile by ‘Revolv’ on one shower wall that reminds me of old 45 records. The bench was covered in a countertop material at the urging of the contractor even though I’d called for 24×24 tiles from the same line as the floor mosaics, but he insisted, warning of potential leaks (!?). Form vs function as always! Looking down from the master bedroom balcony to the patio below. The exterior design was a collaboration with my friend Jared Vermeil – visit his site here. Jared actually introduced me to this project – a huge thank you to him! There is a water feature, gas firepit, bench seating and planted area at the patio. Steps lead down to the rear yard with a small wood deck and meditation hut. The sharp angle of the patio is taken off the rear property line. As for that glowing orange wood, I’m not happy with the color, and I can’t wait for the elements to tone it down to something more soothing. Good thing it’s south-facing – bring on the UV! Even from the first floor, the view to the backside of Twin Peaks is pretty sweet. This is an enviable outdoor space that will see many parties in years to come, hopefully I’ll be invited to one or two : ) — more to come, once I get it pro photographed and up on the website.

Moving along! The glass tile in the shower is a 3×12 pale green we are orienting vertically. A shampoo niche is carved in to the wall opposite the showerhead, to be lined with rectangular glass mosaic tile in a blue/green/brown mix.

We’re using the same mosaic tile on the entire wall behind the new vanity, around the window, mirror and sconces.

The floor tile is 12×12 ceramic in a tan/green which blends in to the scheme of the room. The makore vanity cabinet from City Cabinetmakers picks up the brown in the wall tile.

The fireplace has been tiled. The new hearth stone – a limestone slab from Ann Sacks called Topo Azul – is put in place, and the new simple mantle built – to be painted. Finish details to follow.

We are also tackling the fireplace which the owners want to revamp. The white painted brick, the brass and glass doors (yikes), and the overall height don’t go with the low-slung mid-century feel of their living room.

We’ve removed the mantle, a few rows of brick, the pinkish stone hearth, and the doors.

The tile we’ve selected is Luxor Grey by Ann Sacks. It’s a long thin tile that will accentuate the horizontal lines in the room. I laid it out to get a good mix because the natural stone is slightly varied in color.

Now back to the bathroom: We’re down to the studs to install the new window, frosted glass for privacy. We’re going from horizontal to vertical with the window. Everything has been removed; the tile, the entire shower, the vanity.